86 The Carnivora. 
“Estancia” where the owner and five or six mounted men 
were hard at work at this troublesome job, galloping about 
and shouting maledictions in the names of all the saints in 
the Calendar on the heads of the frolicsome creatures who 
refused to join their mothers in the “corral.” 
The Spanish language is peculiarly rich in expletives, and 
it was somewhat amusing to watch the fruitless efforts of 
the men, and hear the burst of anathemas that accompanied 
every failure, when I knew that the dog at my side would 
soon do more than the whole posse of horsemen to direct that 
stream of living quicksilver into the right channel. After 
looking on quietly for some time, I rode up to the owner 
and politely offered my help, requesting, if he accepted it, 
to leave the affair entirely to my dog. He assented with 
very evident scepticism, remarking that it would give his 
men a rest at all events. A wave of the hand and a nod 
to the dog was enough, for he had all along been eager 
to go to work, and no doubt had watched with contempt the 
blundering efforts of the men. By this time the lambs were 
careering round in two divisions at some distance from the 
corral, and he knew that he must first bring them into one 
mob. Having done this, he bustled them sharply towards 
the gate, and as they were about to race past it, dashed 
ahead, turned the leaders, and pressing up against the 
checked mass, shouldered a number through the entrance. 
“Que mira!” exclaimed the owner. Round the corral 
again went the mob, the dog keeping.outside them, cutting 
off stragglers, and pressing them close to the walls. Then, 
as they came to the entrance, he again headed them and 
forced nearly half the mob into the inclosure. Some ewes 
had now come out to look after their lambs, which did not 
improve matters, but in a few turns more he had folded the 
whole flock, and stood at the gate until I went up and shut 
it. The natives had never seen such an example of first- 
rate shepherding as that, as could be guessed by their ex- 
pressions of satisfaction and surprise. The owner, after 
